Julian Casablancas

Julian Casablancas caught heat from some Strokes diehards for his spacey, synth-y electro-pop left turn on November's underrated solo outing Phrazes For the Young (RCA), but even he couldn't have dreamt he'd be relegated to a weeklong marquee with the likes of half-baked beatniks Slightly Stoopid and Infected Mushroom. Behold the Jazz Fest-week roster at Republic, which recalls either A&R infighting or a feverish dream in which your preacher, your second cousin and your second-grade teacher all inexplicably show up at the same birthday party. Whether the club should be commended for casting a mile-wide net or reprimanded for scattershot aim is up for question, but after Casablancas at least, the bills coalesce somewhat in quality: U.K. dubstep DJ Rusko (with Big Gigantic) late Thursday; Coloradan sampler and sound collagist Pretty Lights on Friday; cultish psych/rock clan and would-be Polyphonic Spree Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros (with Lafayette's Brass Bed) on Saturday. And if there's one person in the city who actually owns all these albums, he or she should get in free. HAIM and Glasgow open for Casablancas. Tickets $32. — Noah Bonaparte Pais